Joe Brammer, chief executive of Bulkhead, the studio behind the hit game Wardogs, has said his company deliberately avoids hiring developers who publicly criticize crunch culture, arguing they are unlikely to fit in at a workplace built around intense periods of overtime.
In an interview with The Game Business, Brammer was asked about Bulkhead's approach to crunch and described it as a balancing act rather than a permanent state. He said the team pushes hard for a handful of months and then is allowed to ease off without fear of retaliation. «For the last three months, Wardogs has been a lot more important than a lot of their family lives,» Brammer said. «It has been, because that's what pays the money for them. But now Bulkhead has to acknowledge that it needs to go the other way.»
Brammer said the studio has turned down pressure to accelerate a console release, telling partners the game will arrive in 2028 as planned. «We've just said, 'No, you don't understand, that's not how it's going to work. We can't push them more. We're not doing that,'» he said. He framed the policy as giving employees room to say they are tapping out without fearing dismissal.
The CEO acknowledged that crunch has become harder as the team ages and starts families. Bulkhead initially offered 10-week paternity leave but scrapped it after employees' partners struggled when the new parents returned to work. The studio now provides two weeks of paternity leave and half-days to ease the transition for families.
Brammer was direct about who the studio hires. «A lot of people who may have an issue with crunch — rightly so, I understand that issue, we always try and avoid it, but we don't hide that this is going to happen at some point — they often don't make it in the door,» he said. «We want to be known for that: this is a place you come to work hard. If you care about the work you're making and the result of what you make here, you'll feel really valued. If you don't, you will feel slave-driven.»
To offset the demands, Bulkhead distributes what Brammer described as a meaningful amount in bonuses and company shares to select employees, though not everyone is eligible. «If we're going to be a company who says, 'we do crunch', then we have to also say, 'but you get something for it,'» he said. «We want people to know that those people who do work hard get that return, and it is life-changing.»
The comments arrive as Wardogs enjoys a breakout commercial run. The game has sold 2 million copies in less than a week and sits near the top of Steam's most-played chart, with word of mouth still driving growth. Brammer said the console version is scheduled for 2028 and that the team intends to take its time getting there.
The interview places Bulkhead among studios that openly defend crunch at a time when parts of the industry have moved toward sustained overtime avoidance. Brammer's argument rests on the idea that intense periods are temporary, compensated, and voluntary in the sense that employees can step back afterward. Critics of crunch have long argued that such cycles harm health and retention, a tension Brammer acknowledged when he said he understands why some developers object.
For now, the studio's commercial momentum gives its leadership unusual leverage to set terms. Whether the model holds as the team grows older and the console launch approaches will test Brammer's claim that hard work and balance can coexist under the same roof.